Montserrat College of Art elects new Board of Trustees Chair

BEVERLY -- Mercedes Sherrod Evans of Cambridge has been elected chair of the Montserrat College of Art Board of Trustees. Her election follows the passing of former Chair Kent J. Wosepka of Hamilton, who died last month of injuries sustained on a cross-country bicycle trip in Texas.

Sherrod Evans is an attorney by training with a JD from Boston College Law School who also holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania College for Women. She received certificates in Dispute Resolution and Human Resource Management from UMass Boston.

Evans spent a good part of her career working in affirmative action and diversity compliance. She retired in 2018 as the Chief Diversity Officer for Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, having served in similar positions for Tufts University and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, among other agencies in the Commonwealth.

She is the past chair of the Cambridge Human Rights Commission, Past President of the Cambridge, Arlington, and Belmont Bar Associations, a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, American Council on Education - New England Chapter of Network of Women, Leaders in Education, Boston College Law School Black Alumni Association, Art Connection, and the Mother Caroline Academy and Educational Center.

She has most recently served Montserrat as a vice-chair of the Montserrat Board of Trustees and as Chair of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee. She was first elected to the board in the winter of 2020.

Dr. Kurt T. Steinberg said, "Mercedes Sherrod Evans is an academic leader who will help the college reach the next level of our Strategic Plan which places a priority on people, equity and diversity. We are deeply saddened by the loss of our chair Kent Wosepka and have enormous gratitude for his time as the college's board chair. I know that Mercedes will continue to follow the progressive path set by Kent during his tenure and look forward to working beside her as chair."